See America In Color

Four Ways to Update Things in the Social/Cultural Space on the Block, in Civics, with Citizens & Community

Doc Cunningham
Sounding Off Social

The word is out after recent announcements to media and local e-broadcast channels. One is the new smart phone that has ‘pro’ in its name. The other is the See America In Color Essay Contest that has ‘smarts’ in its game. Folks are ready to put the new features to work in the classroom and the marketplace.

*See America In Color* in a Hometown Near You!

While not a tech gadget, the essay contest gives a glimpse for how we might update and celebrate ‘smart blocks, woke civics and strong citizens’ in the community. Take for example that more and more smartphone makers have devices with three back-facing cameras. You can now take wide-angle selfies and slow-motion video. When working with the app they deliver ‘triple-vision’ to the device.

The essay contest with the help of administrators, teachers and parents works with middle, high and college students. It will help deliver a 21^st century vision to blaze a trail in roots and culture. It might be exciting to have three cameras in your phone or to engage students in the essay contest, but that’s not all to getting the most out of them in the classroom or the real world. A smart phone doesn’t work only as a phone. It has other important functions for the consumer.

Some people are old enough to remember ‘black & white’ TVs before color, or the DOS operating system before Windows, or flip phones before smart phones. These technologies got us to where we are today with 5G networks and 8K TVs. Along the way, steps were taken to update things in the tech space where they operate. So how do we update our civics in the social/cultural space?

Well, think about how smart devices get a new look, feel and purpose. This gives a sense for how we update things the way tech firms do with gadgets. With each new school year there are curriculum objectives and student assignments. So, the first way we add ‘smarts’ to our Civics in the community, Social/American Studies in the classroom or Social Issues in the public space is to educate the present.

There’s often a 1-page sheet with new devices that says ‘read this first’ before using. Similarly, the See America In Color (SAIC) campaign and essay contest are about how we understand those ‘read this first’ aspects of American History, the Black to America story or Hometown Strong comebacks. We rarely read the whole manual of a new device or the full account of American history. But there’s some ‘read this first’ info from the campaign that help put the stories in context and connect the dots.

This campaign also has a kind of ‘throwback mode’ for looking to the past not to return to the past but to create the future. Consider some of the features in today’s cars like backup camera or blindspot alert. How did we function without them? We got by not having them but now they’re becoming a new standard. The campaign and essay contest offer a new standard in how we look back to create the future. Plus, there may be some ‘blindspot alerts’ that could get flagged in our civic/social space.

In the months ahead there’ll be many new and amazing picture/video postings on social media. The three-camera feature will give views of people, places and projects that are ‘out of this world.’ That’s the idea behind SAIC and the essay contest. It’s a project for how we elevate the game in civic/social issues for a higher level of citizenship. When we See America In Color, we will better understand the ‘black & white’ issues that started in the past and the multi-cultural view geared towards the future.

Lastly, this campaign is about how we update the now. Every so often we get a message on our phone or computer that says, ‘new updates available now.’ That usually means there are ‘bug’ fixes or improved features that have been made to the system. When we select ‘yes’ the phone or computer goes through some changes where it ‘updates the now.’ This gives us the latest version of the ‘bells & whistles’ with the device functions. Similarly, SAIC is about having the latest versions in ‘civic ideals & functions’ along with some new & improved changes to the system. We’ll get to move even closer to what the founding fathers called “a more perfect union.”

We all try to live our lives as ‘pros’ in some way. Whether in school, business, sports or civic duty we look to each new season or new device as a time to be better, do better and live better. SAIC and the essay contest aren’t just about how we See America In Color. They’re also about how we Do America In Color. More people will become a ‘believer’ as we reach higher for a better a nation and breath-in fresh ‘American Oxygen.’

Tracks: Imagine Dragons – Believer – https://youtu.be/7wtfhZwyrcc

Rihanna – American Oxygen – https://youtu.be/Ao8cGLIMtvg

Hometown. Strong. Living. And Major Community Comebacks That’s for Real!

Doc Cunningham
Sounding Off Social

It’s that time of year again when kids return to their regular schedule as summer ends. It can be just as exciting (and a relief) for parents when kids are back in school. For some parents it’s about not having them get on their last nerve. For some kids it’s about not having parents get…ok you get the point.

This time of the year isn’t only about school essentials. It’s also become a time for the new iPhone buzz. People get excited to hear what’s in, what’s out and what’s hot! Ever since smart phones came on the scene, techies and regular folks wait in long lines to get a hands-on look at devices billed as a ‘pocket gizmo’ or the ‘next big thing.’

So, what if we did with our civics the way tech firms have done with their gadgets? What would happen if we could add ‘smarts’ to our social/cultural space the way ‘smarts’ got added to these devices? We would likely get a rush of breakout stories that celebrate ‘hometown strong living’ and major community comebacks that’s for real.

It’s hard to give the full extent of American history in one session. But a few points stand out as more than just coincidence. For example, take the 400-yr ‘Black to America’ story starting in 1619, it proved two things: They were able to overcome the struggle to get their breakthrough. And they were able to build excellence to live their best life. The collective story is one of #CitizenShining moments achieved by ‘strong citizens.’

A different version of this are the community comeback stories across the country. Some are known as ‘Jersey Strong’ or ‘Boston Strong’ or ‘Parkland Strong’ or ‘Vegas Strong’ or ‘El Paso Strong.’ These sentiments came out of frustration turned into positive action, again by ‘strong citizens.’ But why does it have to take natural disaster, tragedy or hate-triggered events to celebrate a civic spirit in culture and community the way we celebrate a winning spirit in sports and biz?

Maybe if we could just find a way to add ‘smarts’ to our social/cultural space, it would do for civics what happened to TVs and cell phones when ‘smarts’ got added to those devices. It’s also possible we would go from normal civics to ‘woke civics.’ This would then help us see a better picture of the issues for a higher level of citizenship.

That’s what will happen when we See America in Color (SAIC) as with TVs and cell phones. The first ‘smarts’ added to TVs made us go from seeing things only in ‘black & white’ to seeing them in color. SAIC will cause us to see the issues of our time not simply in a two-tone way but in a more colorful, multi-cultural way. Plus, to fully appreciate ‘people of color’ as well as have a ‘multi-color’ view, it makes sense to go back and see how those ‘black & white’ issues came about.

In the case of cell phones, the main ‘smarts’ added was an Operating System (OS) which made multi-function tasks possible. Similarly, SAIC represents a way to reboot, update or introduce a new OS to our civics. When we add ‘smarts’ to our civics, whether through social studies in education, social media or social issues in the public space, we’ll see things in a more new-school kind of way.

Here we are 50+ years since adding ‘smarts’ to TVs and we’ve seen the picture-quality improve in major ways. A TV is no longer just a ‘black & white’ box. It’s joined a group known as Smart Appliance. However, when it comes to civic/social issues we’re still trying to get a better picture or still trying to improve race relations in major ways. That’s why SAIC isn’t just about upgrading the optics, it’s also about game-changing the civics. It might not make us all rule the world as citizens, but it will certainly give more meaning to the phrase ‘We the People.’

So now that the next iPhone will soon be on sale, just think about how the device might have a new look, feel and smarts. These factor-in to how it helps us work better and look cool. The same is true as we begin to See America In Color. In one sense, SAIC might help us work better and look cool as citizens. But beyond that, it will function like an ‘OS’ to help us blaze a trail in roots and culture as we educate, create, elevate and update our civics.

Tracks: 2 Chainz ft. Ariana Grande – Rule the World – https://youtu.be/zh4J-yW3LHw

Kindred the Family Soul ft. Freeway – All My People – https://youtu.be/7q5xc4QLab4

What to Do About the ‘Isms and Schisms’ in America?

Doc, Sounding Off Social

Some days it feels like the news of the day cries out “enough already, or WTH!” Every so often there’s an off-the-rails story that not only grabs our attention, it almost commands it. You listen or watch for ‘live’ updates, for an explanation that might make sense. You follow the story as it moves from local news to the national stage. That happened for many across the country in August 2017 in Charlottesville VA.

Events like these go back to the 50s and 60s and maybe even earlier. We might as well go back to the start of the ‘Black to America’ journey in 1619. It’s then we realize that August 2019 represents the 400^th anniversary of a journey that is forever tied to American history. So how should we reminisce, reflect and recharge for the years ahead? What might we do about the ‘isms and schisms’ in America?

It was in the 1960s when color TVs hit the scene and showed up in homes. A time when social issues were front and center in the news. What we started to see on TV, in color, gave us a clearer picture than we saw years before in black and white. Now, it’s 50+ years later and we’re still trying to get a better picture of the social issues of the day.

Maybe it’s time for us to ‘See America in Color?’ Here we are at the start of a new dawning, a new yearning, a new meaning. A time for us to celebrate new #CitizenShining moments. A time for us “to reach higher for a better nation.” That’s what a growing list of young and older ‘America in Color’ supporters believe and hope to achieve. We have the chance to celebrate a civic spirit in culture and community like a winning spirit in sports and biz.

We’ve seen change since the 60s in many areas of life. We’ve watched automakers upgrade cars with backup cameras, collision avoidance and blindspot alerts. We’ve seen mobile technology go from flip phones to smart phones, from OG to Mo’ G. We’ve listened as radio stations added HD sound to their AM/FM bands. We’ve even seen TVs go from ‘No-K to 4K.’ So the question is “what are we doing to upgrade our civics?”

Hey folks, let’s get our hometown juices flowing! Bob Marley sang about the ‘isms and schisms’ back in his day, so what if we did something about them in America?’ Whether with the ‘See America in Color’ essay contest for high school and college students or other next-level efforts in civic leadership, social change and community development. It’s time we upgrade our ideals to see civic and social issues with a better picture quality for a higher level of citizenship. With the right spirit, the heavens just might bust open.

The ‘See America in Color’ campaign is a lot like when we charge, update or upgrade our cell phones. When it’s plugged-in, the backlight brightens up and a lightning-bolt symbol appears in the status window. This means the phone is getting charged. After a while a message might appear showing that one or more apps have been updated. However, sometimes we get to a point in the life of the phone where it’s not holding the charge like before. This usually means that we will have to upgrade to a new device.

Well, the ‘See America in Color’ campaign is to our civic life like the charger is to our phone life. It’s about ‘bringing a charge’ to citizens as their civic power brightens things up with a lightning-bolt symbol across the map. It’s about updating our civic roles with a new mindset or approach to doing things. We might even get to a point in civic life where the ‘hometown charge’ is low and we need to upgrade our public profile or community status. The ‘See America In Color’ campaign draws on the civic ideals of John F. Kennedy and social justice efforts of Martin Luther King Jr.

The campaign goal has three parts: educational, social and developmental. It includes an organizing platform for the Strong Citizens Association of America (SCAA). It will also explore the formation of a citizens-based group called the Public Entity Reform Council (PERC) to review some of the social/operational ‘blindspots’ in our governing system. These efforts combine to inform, invoke and inspire a renewed ‘code of service’ standard by citizens and elected officials. This will be a guide to a favorable #CitizenRating, not driven by unfair demands, but for community at its best.

Want to know more about the essay contest or other breakout events with the campaign? Just send your ideas, thoughts and comments to @SeeUSAinColor on Twitter or our blog page at www.SeeAmericaInColor.com. Donations and other financial awards will go a long way so that this campaign moves from the early years of 2K and beyond, to having the best picture quality for a higher level of citizenship as a ‘Community 3.0’ nation.

Tracks: Beyoncé – Spirit – https://youtu.be/civgUOommC8

DJ Khaled ft Nipsy Hussle & John Legend – Higher – https://youtu.be/_pYPRgtySdI